Pharmac has abandoned a proposal to remove some low-ranked medicines from its Options for Investment (OFI) list following public consultation.

In October, the agency floated a change that would have allowed it to decline applications that had sat in the lowest-ranked group for more than two years. The aim, Pharmac said at the time, was to make it clearer which medicines were unlikely to be funded and why.

After hearing from clinicians, patients, advocacy groups and suppliers, Pharmac says it will keep those applications on the OFI list. “People told us that while they understood our aim was to improve transparency, they did not want us to remove funding applications from the OFI,” Pharmac’s Director Pharmaceuticals, Adrienne Martin, said.

Feedback highlighted a preference for clear public information on where medicines sit on the OFI and the reasons for their ranking, decisions based on updated evidence rather than list position, and assurances that any changes would not disadvantage Māori, Pacific peoples, rural communities or people with rare disorders. Some also wanted applications to remain on the list to preserve the possibility of future funding.

Pharmac is not proposing changes to how it manages the OFI list at this stage. It says improving transparency and timeliness remains a focus through its Consumer and Patient Working Group, with broader work underway as part of a “Reset Programme” looking at process improvements and potential future changes.

The OFI list is Pharmac’s ranked pipeline of medicines it would consider funding if its budget allows. The decision means no applications will be formally declined under the shelved proposal, and the lower-ranked group will remain on the list while the wider review continues.